President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and the suspension of three permanent secretaries following the discovery of another fictitious agency operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The permanent secretaries affected are M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah.
Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, disclosed this on Friday after briefing President Tinubu on the development for the second consecutive day.
Aliyu said the latest investigation uncovered an entity known as the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office, which allegedly operated from office space within the OSGF without lawful approval or presidential authorisation.
According to him, the discovery was made during the commission’s broader investigation into fictitious government agencies and procedural lapses in the public service.
“Upon further briefing by ICPC to Mr President on the ongoing investigations into the fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and procedural weaknesses in the public service, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has uncovered another fake agency and office operating under the name National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office,” Aliyu said.
He explained that the office had been allocated space within the OSGF, despite not having the requisite legal authority or approval from the President.
Aliyu identified Nwabueze as the promoter of the alleged fake agency and said investigations showed that he operated under several variations of his name.
He listed the names as George Nathan, George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and George Nwabueze.
The ICPC chairman also disclosed that the commission had engaged the OSGF to obtain relevant information concerning the operations of the entity and its suspected collaborators.
“I have briefed Mr President comprehensively on these new developments. ICPC will continue with its investigations accordingly,” he said.
According to Aliyu, President Tinubu subsequently directed the immediate arrest of Nwabueze and the suspension of Danjuma, Gagare and Pheelangwah pending further investigation.
The latest discovery comes amid an expanding investigation into fictitious government bodies following the exposure of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The self-styled Director-General of the PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, is currently facing prosecution over allegations bordering on forgery and impersonation.
An interim report submitted by the ICPC to President Tinubu on August 6, following a 30-day investigation, had also revealed two other alleged fictitious entities — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership.
The National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office therefore becomes the fourth fictitious agency uncovered by the ICPC in the course of its investigation into the fake-agency scandal.
The commission said investigations into the latest discovery and the officials allegedly linked to its operation would continue.